


Maybe there is peace to be found.

by cptandor



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:07:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23841256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cptandor/pseuds/cptandor
Summary: They were surrounded by cheering rebels, all kissing and shouting into the forests of Ajon Kloss, and she pasted a smile on her face. Surely they would assume her face was wet with happy tears, right? Surely, they wouldn’t ask her what happened on Exegol. They wouldn’t understand, she knew.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 6
Kudos: 17
Collections: 9 Squares Reylo Challenge





	Maybe there is peace to be found.

**Author's Note:**

> Un-beta'd; all mistakes are my own! Part of the 9squares Reylo challenge. Prompt: Celebration. Mentions of canon character deaths.

Rey embraced Poe and Finn, tears streaming down her face. They were surrounded by cheering rebels, all kissing and shouting into the forests of Ajon Kloss, and she pasted a smile on her face. Surely they would assume her face was wet with happy tears, right? Surely, they wouldn’t ask her what happened on Exegol. They wouldn’t understand, she knew.

It was later that night, sitting near a fire, with a strong drink by herself, that the tears came on stronger, her shoulders shaking with the effort of holding them back. Poe had told her, before wandering off to find Finn, that Leia was gone. She had just nodded and told him, “I know.” He didn’t question  _ how  _ she knew, and they both assumed his feelings about her talents were just unspoken. Poe didn’t like to discuss Force  _ woo woo _ , as he’d called it more than once.

Rey stared into the fire, doing her best to master her body and her mind. To herself, she chanted the meditations that Luke and Leia had taught her, though she wouldn’t let herself fall into her “be with me” spiral just now. No, because there was one who wouldn’t come back, who couldn’t be with her, and the thought crushed her.

Ben found peace, and she found a certain comfort in that, but the short moment that she had him, that she realized he had come back to the Light, hadn’t been enough. She knew it was selfish and she knew Jedi were supposed to eschew selfishness and self-centeredness. Was she a Jedi now? Ben wouldn’t be remembered as one. He wouldn’t be remembered for his role in the defeat of Palpatine, at the end of the war. The thought hurt more, she thought, than his death. It felt as if it had all been for nothing. Sure, they defeated the forces of Darkness, but at what cost?

No. That was her selfishness talking. She stood, leaving the cracked mug she’d been using on the ground, and made her way through the crowds to find her friends. Poe and Finn were flirting, badly, with each other not far from where Rose was telling a story that had Keydel laughing loudly, holding her belly with the strength of it. She put on a sad smile and called them all together, telling them she was leaving. Finn shouted his dissent, but the others nodded in understanding. Rose embraced her, Kaydel gave her hand a squeeze, and Poe punched her shoulder playfully. Finn held her tight for a long moment, asking her why she needed to leave. “It’s time, I have some things I need to do,” she whispered close to his ear. He didn’t argue anymore once they’d stepped back from each other. With one last nod to the group, she turned her back on the dancing revelers and the fires lighting the small clearing and made her way to her ship with resolve. Yes, she had some things she needed to do, and once she did them, maybe she would find the sort of peace that Ben had. Maybe then she would feel his strength within herself.


End file.
